The message they are sending to striking workers is, we will only give you coverage if things turn ugly

Thousands of prisoners in over 24 states began a labor strike on September 9, the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, to demand better conditions and healthcare, the right to unionize and what one organizing group calls an “end to slavery in America.” But one would hardly know it watching major U.S. media, which has mostly ignored the largest prison labor strike in history. One week on, the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News, ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and NPR have not covered the prison strikes at all.

In the same time period since the strike began, CNN has run stories on Clinton’s “body double,” the New York Times ran a piece on women getting buzzcuts and ABC News had an “exclusive trailer” for its parent corporation Disney’s upcoming film. There was certainly enough airtime and column inches to mention that workers had coordinated a national strike of unprecedented scale, but for these outlets the coverage has been nonexistent.

When we spoke by phone, Azzurra Crispino, media co-chair of Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, one of the strike organizers, was hesitant to be too hard on the press out of hope the strikes would lose coverage in the future. But after some prompting, the four-year prison abolitionist veteran listed a few measured grievances at the media. Her most consistent theme was that to the extent the strikes were being covered, the focus was on spectacle over substance, and in doing so the media was making nonviolent resistance all but impossible.

“I’m a pacifist, I would like to see the strikes remain nonviolent,” Crispino told AlterNet. “Yet in terms of the mainstream press coverage when there’s blood on the ground the prisons have to fill out reports that guards were hurt so then they can’t deny strikes occurred,” she said in reference to the stonewalling of prison officials. The few reporters Crispino had spoken to said most prison spokespeople denied any strikes were taking place. “Between prisoners and TDCJ [Texas Department of Criminal Justice], who do you think reporters are going to believe?” she asked.

The power asymmetry and the media’s default position of siding with government officials over those seen as criminals creates just one more barrier to coverage. At its core, coverage of the prison strikes, as with any protest action, has an inherently perverse incentive structure that puts a premium on acts of violence and property damage and overlooks non-telegenic peaceful activity, such as hunger strikes and labor stoppages.

This dynamic was seen in the Standing Rock incident on September 3, when private security sicced dogs on Native American activists protesting an oil pipeline, and pictures of injured protesters went viral on social media. At the time, only Democracy Now, a relatively small left-wing news show, and AP and UPI filed original reports on the incident. Days after what the media called “clashes,” articles appeared with far greater frequency, including in major outlets like New York Times, CNN and NBC.

This warped incentive structure is even more pronounced in prisons, which are by definition cut off from society. The only time anyone bothers to notice prisons is when demonstrably violent action takes place.

“Which of the strikes are getting the most attention? Florida because they’re violent,” Crispino says, in reference to the September 7 uprising at Homes Correctional facility in the Florida panhandle. “They can’t deny in Florida because prisoners are setting things on fire and there’s been so much structural damage they can’t deny strikes are occurring.”

A similar dynamic is at work when prisoners are in solitary confinement or engage in body mutilation or destruction of property, often by flooding their cells or covering them with feces or blood. Similarly, Crispino contends, each time the media ignores peaceful activities, it tips the scales further in the direction of fires, property damage and rioting.

But this reason doesn’t fully explain the lack of mainstream coverage. A few outlets, as noted, have covered the strike to the extent they could, especially in the buildup to the protest, so it’s not as if there wasn’t enough information to compile a story.

One possible reason is that some of corporate media’s biggest advertisers use prison labor, so the disincentive to shine a light on the problem is high. AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Eli Lilly, GEICO, McDonald’s, and Walmart all use prison labor and all are sponsors of corporate media so much we can recite their commercials by heart. One corporation that uses prison labor, Verizon, even owns major media outlets Yahoo and Huffington Post.

Russia Today, a Moscow-funded media outlet, was the only cable news network to speak with Crispino, and to the best of her knowledge, the only one to cover the strikes. When Donald Trump appeared on RT last week, there was a frenzy of outrage by mainstream pundits, with some questioning why Trump would give credence to “Russian government-controlled propaganda.” RT’s position has always been that it covers stories the mainstream press doesn’t, and while some may see this as a cynical marketing ploy, in the case of the prison strikes it also happens to be true.

Another issue for IWOC is that all the coverage thus far, even in sympathetic outlets, has ignored their broader political aims, which is prison abolition, not reform.

“The IWOC is an abolitionist organization,” Crispino said. “Abolition is pretty much completely ignored. It’s interesting because people ask questions about that and they ask what would you do instead, but no one wants to hear that and they never write about it.” That the media is allergic to ideology, to having deeper discussions about our society’s core axioms and why the U.S. has 25% of the world’s prison population but 5% of the total population, is perhaps too knotty for a 800-word writeup but for those working in the trenches it can be frustrating.

As the strike enters its second week, perhaps major media outlets and cable news will take a cue from activist media and the Wall Street Journal (whose report is worth reading) and shine a light, if only briefly, on the largest prison strike in history. If not, Crispino feels other tactics will eventually become more commonplace.

“I almost want to say, the mainstream media is complicit if there’s violence. The message they are sending to striking workers is, we will only give you coverage if things turn ugly.”

Adam Johnson is a contributing analyst at FAIR and contributing writer for AlterNet. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJohnsonNYC.

USMjParty

You are welcome here!

The U.S. Marijuana Party of Kentucky is a news, information and opinion sharing website which focuses on the repeal of prohibition, particularly Cannabis, but other natural growing plants as well.

We believe that we inherit unalienable rights with birth upon this planet which include the right to the growing and use of plants without repercussion from any authority.

A plant grown in/on our own property that is processed in any way for personal use and NOT to be sold to another has no reason to be regulated. The Government has authority over commerce. Regulation and taxation is allowed in the open market – which is where Cannabis should be, for marketing purposes.

Those products made from Cannabis which are medications and are sold by pharmaceutical companies and promoted by Physicians should be regulated accordingly.

Medications are manufactured by pharmaceutical companies and as such should be regulated to ensure they’re safe for consumption.

Make our gardens LAWFUL and REPEAL PROHIBITION now!

We have the right to grow nature in our homes and gardens!

The ultimate goal MUST remain REPEAL and Nullify Cannabis Prohibition thru the United Nations and our U.S. Federal Government.

The legalization statutes which have been passed to date, particularly recreational use are a legal way within a State to have commerce with an unlawful controlled substance, according to the U.N. Treaties.

”The growing illegal economy supports and enables corrupt officials, criminals, terrorists, and insurgents to mingle and conduct business with another. We must build our own networks to fight these illicit networks and break their corruptible influence…”LINK

Bearing this in mind, the ONLY way to truly break free from the Drug War is REPEAL that which was put in place to benefit the NWO.

Until we accomplish this, we will never be free from prosecution for using the Cannabis plant and potentially many others.

The Legalization rush is on. And just as the Cannabis Businesses are pushing forward, so will the policing of the businesses. They will continue to fill our jails and prisons with laws written just for Cannabis user’s whether they be legal or not.

In the meantime, while we fight for the freedom of Cannabis user’s let God keep our Patient’s safe from undue harm by the corruption of our own Government and it’s war upon God’s plant.

“If you wish to keep slaves, you must have all kinds of guards. The cheapest way to have guards is to have the slaves pay taxes to finance their own guards. To fool the slaves, you tell them that they are not slaves and that they have freedom. You tell them that they need law and order to protect them against bad slaves. Then you tell them to elect a government. Give them freedom to vote and they will vote for their own guards and pay their salary. They will then believe they are free persons. Then give them money to earn, count, and spend, and they will be too busy to notice the slavery they are in.” — Alexander Warbucks

STATS

Sheree Krider

PLEASE DO NOT USE!

PLEASE DO NOT USE SO CALLED "SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA" OR "SPICE" SOLD UNDER AN EVER INCREASING VARIETY OF NAMES!
IT IS NOT MARIJUANA AT ALL AND I AM INSULTED THAT THE WORDS SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA ARE USED TO DESCRIBE THESE SUBSTANCES! "FAKE DRUGS" WOULD SUFFICE!
THEY KILL!
PLEASE COPY AND OPEN THE LINK BELOW TO READ ONE STORY ABOUT THESE "FAKE DRUGS"!
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/60e0b41dcfeb4c8896f89c4a7409dc99/KY--Synthetic-Drugs/
PARENTS, WATCH YOUR CHILDREN!
"...Officials said the powdery substance sold as bath salts mimic the effects of cocaine, ecstasy and LSD. It can be snorted, injected or mixed with drinks for food. The chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates, violent behavior and suicidal thoughts.
Synthetic marijuana contains organic leaves coated with chemicals that provide a marijuana-like high when smoked. The product is marketed under various brands include Spice and K2.
The synthetic drugs can be purchased on the Internet and in some tobacco and smoke shops, drug paraphernalia shops, gas stations and convenience stores..."
OF NOTE: THESE PRODUCTS ARE MOST OFTEN USED BY THOSE WHO ARE FORCED TO SUBMIT TO "DRUG TESTING"....
THAT IS WHY THAT THEY HAVE BECOME SO POPULAR ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT THEY ARE READILY AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO MINORS - OR SOMEONE WHO WOULD PURCHASE FOR A MINOR.
THIS HAS TO STOP!

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PLEASE BE ADVISED: OPINIONS PRESENTED ON U.S. MARIJUANA PARTY WEBSITES ARE THOSE OF THE ORIGINAL WRITER AND NOT NECESSARILY THE OPINION OF THE WEBSITE(S) OWNER(S). THEY HAVE BEEN PRESENTED IN ORDER TO ALLOW ALL OPINIONS TO BE EXPRESSED FAIRLY.

Kentucky, “Dark and Dangerous Ground”

The Dark and Bloody Ground

The popular belief that the name Kentucky means "Dark and Bloody Ground" is apparently without foundation. Yet through the years, the image has persisted in literary and oral tradition as a description of the Kentucky country.

One traditional explanation sites Delaware legend in which the ancient tribe of the Lenni-Lanape allied with the Iroquois to fight the Allegewi, the original inhabitants of Kentucky. In a single bloody battle the Allegewi were virtually exterminated. The land where an entire nation had been eradicated became known as the "dark and bloody ground". The violent clashes between the Iroquois and the southern Indians only helped reinforce the image.

In his book, "Historical Sketches of Kentucky" (1874), Richard H. Collins says that a northern Indian once asked Indian fighter Joseph H. Daveiss how white men could live in land that had seen so much bloodshed. The Indian said that the ghosts of those killed in the Indian wars haunted the land making it dangerous.

At the execution of the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals the Cherokee Cheif Dragging Canoe is said to have told Col. Richard Henderson that the lands south of the Kentucky river were "bloody ground"and would be "dark and difficult to settle". However Ruben T. Durrett said in his book, "The Centenary of Kentucky"(1892) that the phrase was used to discourage Henderson from purchasing the land.

Quotes

God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools…and He has not been disappointed. Devout Christians are destined to be regarded as fools in modern society. We are fools for Christ’s sake. We must pray for courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world. If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.” — Justice Antonin Scalia

Our Work
The 10th Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

“insanity is committing the same mistake over and over and continuing to expect a different result”

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” -- Frank Zappa

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. Samuel Adams 1776

If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.
- Thomas Jefferson

“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” -- Abraham Lincoln

“Tough girls come from New York. Sweet girls, they're from Georgia. But us Kentucky girls, we have fire and ice in our blood. We can ride horses, be a debutante, throw left hooks, and drink with the boys, all the while making sweet tea, darlin'. And if we have an opinion, you know you're gonna hear it.” -- Ashley Judd

"Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature."

Quotes

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant…over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
–John Stuart Mill

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“The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.” (J.Edgar Hoover, 1895-1972.)

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“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
― Frank Zappa tags: freedom-illusion Read more quotes from Frank Zappa

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The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant….Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
–John Stuart Mill

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" Quotes from Gatewood "For all you Petrochemical-Pharmaceutical-Military-Industrial-Transnational-Corporate-Fascist-Elite-Bastards, I've got your karma right here. "If I was going to lie to you, I'd already be elected. "Ronald Reagan and George Bush aren't conservatives. They are aliens."

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"A Democracy is when two wolves
and a sheep take a vote on what's
for dinner. A Republic is when the
sheep is well armed and can beg to
differ with the vote.

" Benjamin Franklin"

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Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.
...The judge recommends that the Administrator transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II.
Francis L. Young
Administrative Law Judge
September 6, 1988
Docket No. 86-22
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."

President Jimmy Carter
Message to Congress
August 2, 1977

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“If the American Constitution should fail there will be anarchy throughout the world”

“Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6,000 years may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail there will be anarchy throughout the world.”

― U.S. Senator Daniel Webster – 1851

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KCADP

The Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty needs your contact information: Select this link to sign up

http://kcadp.org/

Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Why abolish the death penalty in Kentucky?

Our Environment

Toxic chemicals in our environment, such as mercury, lead, and certain manmade chemicals, have been linked to cancer, birth defects and brain impairments. Reducing or eliminating the load of these dangerous chemicals in the products we buy, the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink can help reduce the toll of human disease and suffering.

Nairobi, January 18, 2019--South Sudan's state media regulator should immediately lift an order barring a privately-owned newspaper from covering protests in neighboring Sudan and issue a statement guaranteeing the media's right to press freedom and editorial independence, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Beirut, January 17, 2019--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the imprisonment of Nidal Salameh, a journalist for the website Gerasa News, who was convicted of violating Jordan's Press and Publications Law and the Cybercrime Law.

New York, January 17, 2019--The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the detention of Marzieh Hashemi, a TV anchor and documentary filmmaker for the English-language service of Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, and called on the U.S. Department of Justice to disclose the reason for her arrest.